Hi there!
I"m a first time mom and I'm expecting my baby girl in November. I was just wondering since I will be working full time within the first 6 months after she is born, what types of bottles and breast pump do you recommend?
Also what advice do you have for expressing your milk better?

Thanks so much!

Bonnie V.

October 10th, 2012, 10:13 PM

@llli*auderey

Re: Breast Feeding Questions

hi bonnie, welcome and congrats!

my advice, honestly, is: stop thinking about bottles and pumping completely for 6 more months. really. focus on a healthy delivery, a great start to breastfeeding, and come back to this question 4 weeks before you start work again.

October 11th, 2012, 12:44 AM

@llli*sherice

Re: Breast Feeding Questions

Hi Bonnie!! Congrats and good luck with your delivery!!

I'm going to agree with PP. My DD is 20 weeks old on Saturday :) and these women helped me through some tough times. Helped "us" I should say. I was so worried about going back to work I almost missed the first 6 weeks. I went back at 6 weeks, I wish I had 6 years.

I do agree with research that's why when I buy a pump I will purchase the hygeia? I think it is. Do some Google work on that one. Other than that don't worry. You'll praise the day you no longer need it. I use a hand pump and own one bottle, which two weeks ago sweet darling daughter ;) decided she wasn't taking anymore. So you see no matter the research and careful planning babies know better, breast is best lol. She will go 5-6 hours no meal before she takes a bottle. And honestly I'm not interested in spending a million dollars on bottles, when my instincts tell me she isn't going to take one. We've started to spoon feed her milk now just to at least keep her hydrated (that's not REALLY a concern).

A little research on a pump is good, don't over think it, I bought a medela and I am all to unhappy with it, so I use a medela hand pump from the hospital, my nurse gave me. Im still not sure if ill buy another electric, but if I do it'll be a hygeia (sp?)

Just enjoy this last time you have to enjoy long hot showers, hoop earrings, hot beverages, leisurely meals and sleeping in. I would never trade my DD for all the hot coffee in the world but I wish I had savored that last shower a little longer ;) truthfully, once you hold that sweet lump of baby and smell that dear baby smell, food, earrings, sleep and showers just don't seem important anymore.

Have fun! I fell in love with breastfeeding, its the most important thing I've ever done. I hope you love it just as much!! And don't flip out over every little thing, I learned to relax. Get on the llli.org and ask the pros. You always get an answer or they show you how to find it. They are the best!

Sorry for the hi jack, I get excited.

October 11th, 2012, 08:41 AM

@llli*raejoy

Re: Breast Feeding Questions

Quote:

Originally Posted by @llli*auderey

hi bonnie, welcome and congrats!

my advice, honestly, is: stop thinking about bottles and pumping completely for 6 more months. really. focus on a healthy delivery, a great start to breastfeeding, and come back to this question 4 weeks before you start work again.

YES!!! THIS :)

I know it's hard and easier said than done, but definitely do what you can to put it out of your mind.

Personally, I wasted so much precious time worrying about the Big Return. Worrying about pumping enough. Worrying about DS taking a bottle, being able to get to sleep without nursing...we crossed those bridges as we came to them and all is well now :)

I wish you a peaceful, healthy, positive birth experience :love

October 11th, 2012, 09:35 AM

@llli*mommal

Re: Breast Feeding Questions

:ita Excellent advice from the PPs! I also think that it makes sense to put bottles and pumping out of your mind for a bit. But if you're doing something like registering for baby shower gifts, and you have a chance to get gifted some pumping equipment and bottles, I'd probably go for a Medela Pump in Style or a Hygeia, and a variety of bottles. A good pump for a mom who works full-time is generally going to be in the $200-300 range. Don't try to get off cheap with a manual pump or single electric- you'll just end up spending more on a good machine when the cheap pump lets you down! As for bottles, you want one of lots of brands, because you don't know which ones your baby will like. Once you have a winner, you can buy more of it. You'll want slow flow nipples- many babies use the "stage one"/newborn nipples for the entirety of their first year, so don't think that you need to get all those "stage" nipples.

Since you're a first-time mom, here are some things that I think are helpful for getting breastfeeding off to a good start. Many of them happen before you even put the baby to the breast!
- Strive for a healthy pregnancy! Stay fit and active. Birth- and by extension, breastfeeding- is often easier if you're in decent shape.
- Find good, supportive caregivers.
- Avoid induction of labor unless medically necessary. Induction of labor raises your chances of experiencing additional interventions, up to and including things like episiotomy and c-section. Complications from birth can make nursing more difficult.
- Choose your pain relief options during birth with care. Make sure you know what pain relief options you will be offered, and educate yourself about them and their potential impact on breastfeeding. Narcotic pain relievers are particularly troublesome for babies because they can cause babies to be born in a sleepy, sluggish state. Even epidurals can cause problems, since they often cause a maternal fever which is indistinguishable from infection, which usually means baby will spend time in the NICU. This is not to say that you must avoid medical pain relief- just that it makes sense to know your options and their potential side-effects!
- When baby is born, have him/her delivered immediately onto your bare chest. Healthy babies warm up best skin-to-skin with mom, and many will nurse almost immediately after birth. Incidentally, a nursing baby causes the mom to release additional oxytocin which speeds the delivery of the placenta and can prevent excessive postpartum blood loss.
- Delay all routine newborn procedures (things like footprints, ID bracelet, bath, eye antibiotics, weighing and measuring, etc.) until you and baby have had a chance to nurse and bond.
- Room in with your baby. You'll learn baby's cues faster and because baby will have unrestricted opportunities to nurse, your milk will come in faster.
- If you send your baby to the nursery- and remember, your baby is YOUR baby, not the hospital's baby, so YOU get final say about where baby sounds her time- make a sign for the bassinet which says "I am a breastfed baby. No pacifiers or bottles, please! Bring me to my mom every time I cry, or every 2 hours if I don't".
- Don't supplement with formula "just until your milk comes in". Supplementing will delay milk production, because baby will nurse less often, and frequent nursing is what brings milk in.
- Avoid artificial nipples- both bottle and pacifier- until nursing is well-established. Babies learn to latch differently on artificial nipples, and that can cause them to have trouble at the breast. Bottle introduction should be delayed until 4-6 weeks after birth.
- If you run into trouble with nursing, get hands-on help from a lactation consultant, preferably an IBCLC. The phone number for a good IBCLC should be in your phone even before your baby is born.
- Surround yourself with helpful people during your postpartum period. "Helpful" doesn't mean "giving the baby a bottle so you can rest". It means doing everything that you and your household need EXCEPT feeding the baby. Feed the baby is YOUR job. Your helpers should be doing your dishes, fixing your meals, cleaning your toilets, and walking your dog. And they should be trained to say supportive things like "You're doing a wonderful job!"and "You're giving him the best!" instead of things like "Wow, that baby nurses so often- you must not have any milk" or "Just a few bottles won't hurt".

October 11th, 2012, 11:39 AM

@llli*maddieb

Re: Breast Feeding Questions

Quote:

I was just wondering since I will be working full time within the first 6 months after she is born

i could be wrong but this sounds like you don't know exactly when you are returning to work? or you do and it will be soon after the birth, and you figure that you need/or you plan to pump only up until 6 months? can you clarify that?

otherwise, i generaly agree with pps. the best way to get pumping for separations off to a good start is to do everything you can to have breastfeeding going great by the time you go back to work. is this your first baby? i don't think anyone can never be fully prepared for motherhood but you can certainly be informed.

to that end, i add -

where possible, attend a lll meeting or at least establish contact with any local leaders before baby comes.
get the book The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (8th edition 2010) and try to read the first four chapters and chapters on handling separations and pumping.
learn about normal newborn behavior. many moms supplement or think something is wrong with breastfeeding due to normal but unfamiliar behavior.
delay your return to work for as long as you possibly can to give you time to work on any issues and just-time. you are about to enter the most intense and exhausting time you will probably ever experience. you will not believe how fast it goes.

there are pump review websites that are independent=not attached to any company. i suggest read the reviews don't just look at the ratings. remember the most popular may be due to the company being big and having product placed everywhere, they may not necc be the best for your needs. i also suggest calling the pump company's cust. service. pumps are medical devices and when they don't work right, there are very real consequences. so a company with knowledgable and helpful tech support would get my vote.